"I mean, you're on national TV. You put it on your neck. You're the starting pitcher. And you don't think the cameras are going to catch that?"

The Red Sox don't want to act like the ethics police. They've got pitchers who have drawn suspicions, too. Clay Buchholz was called out by the Toronto Blue Jays broadcast crew last season for having what appeared to be sunscreen on his arms. Jon Lester was caught by TV cameras with a strange-looking green substance on his mound in last year's World Series.

Red Sox manager John Farrell actually looked sheepish while asking crew chief Gerry Davis to check out Pineda in the second inning. Wednesday, he even said that he didn't mind if pitchers use pine tar, but there had to be some discretion.

"But that was just so obvious," said Red Sox starter John Lackey, the winning pitcher Wednesday.

There was absolutely no discretion.

The only difference was that after Pineda pitched with clumps of pine tar on his hand during his April 10 victory against the Red Sox, he decided to smear it on his neck this time.

"We took the high road in New York and didn't say anything, even when he had gobs of pine tar all over him," Peavy said. "Then, he comes out and says what he did (that he used dirt, not pine tar), and we still didn't say anything.

"And then he comes out and does that?"

Pineda was warned by the Yankees after the April 10 game that it was illegal to use pine tar, and if he got caught he could face a suspension.

"I feel so bad, but it's a baseball rule. I know I made a mistake," Pineda said Thursday. "I will learn from this mistake. It will not happen again."

Despite the fierce rivalry, the Red Sox really hope they won't have to monitor Pineda again the next time the clubs meet.

"We're not looking to bust people for ticky-tack things,'' Red Sox catcher David Ross said. "That's not what we're about. There are always issues that come up, and there are unwritten rules.

"But you can't have obvious incidents like that.''

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In a bizarre law that only baseball folks can understand, it's quite acceptable to cheat. You just can't be so blatant about it.

"I don't think that's silly,'' Ross said. "We're out for what's best for baseball, and that's to perform to your best ability, without cheating.''

Who really knows what constitutes cheating, anymore? Pitchers hide substances under their sleeves or in their glove. Catchers rub pine tar on their shin guards.

"Well, before I go out,'' Peavy said, being brutally candid, "I put shaving cream on my hands. And I know some people put sunscreen on their hands. Or rosin. You just try to get some grip.''

"Having shaving cream is not like a foreign substance on your hand. You can't really see it, or really even feel it. It's not like putting globs of pine tar all over you.''

Red Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who says he has never worn pine tar for any of his pitchers, insists he has no problem with the opposition using it. It may help the opposing pitcher's control, but it sure beats getting plunked because of a pitcher's wildness in cold weather.

The Yankees can't be absolved in the suspension. Yankees manager Joe Girardi took responsibility for failing to notice that Pineda walked onto the field in the second inning with pine tar, and GM Brian Cashman said the entire organization must accept blame.

"I think he just got caught up in the moment,'' Girardi says, "We'll continue to educate him.''